Cannabis Blog

Israel's Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman announced on Monday that medical marijuana will now be available at pharmacies with a prescription.

According to the Times of Israel, cannabis will be prescribed and supervised liked narcotic medications—and the move will ease pressure on overcrowded dispensaries.

“Today pharmacies give out all kind of drugs, including narcotics such as morphine, and it’s done in a perfectly orderly fashion," Litzman said. "So marijuana will be handled the same way. It will be prescribed and monitored by the same standards as other medications.”

In addition, the decision will allow more doctors to prescribe cannabis—a practice that had been reserved only for special Ministry of Health appointed physicians and had been criticized for its bureaucratic obstacles.

A Senate committee representing all Australia’s major parties is preparing a Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill to legalize medical marijuana, despite warnings of regulatory complications with both Australian and international law, a report says.

The committee includes the Coalition (the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party, and Queensland Liberal branch the Liberal National Party), the Labor Party and crossbench senators. They will “strongly recommend” parliament pass a cross-party bill setting up a medical marijuana regulator, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, citing Fairfax Media sources close to the legislation debate.

Today, over two-thirds of Australians support the idea of medical marijuana use and only 9 percent oppose it, a recent survey by Palliative Care Australia has found.

The leader of Australia Greens, Richard Di Natale, initiated the bill in November last year. The committee received the bill in February and after conducting public hearings and attracting nearly 200 public submissions, it is set to present its report on August 10.

A big reason why support for marijuana legalization is surging is because of the tax revenue potential that legalization would create. Every state in America needs more funding, and marijuana legalization basically creates a new tax revenue source out of thin air. Marijuana sales are going on in every state in America regardless of the legal status of marijuana in those states, so by bringing those transactions out of the shadows and into the daylight, marijuana can help states with funding.

Alaska voters approved marijuana legalization in 2014, and the Alaska Department of Revenue recently released the results of a study that estimates how much money Alaska will make from marijuana taxes. Per Marijuana Business Daily:

A report by the Alaska Department of Revenue estimates that the state will collect anywhere between $5 million and $19 million in taxes from recreational cannabis sales to locals, indicating the huge amount of uncertainty over the potential size of the market.

The state did not provide a revenue projection, though the report estimates annual consumption among residents will range from 102,000 ounces to 384,000 ounces, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.

Based on the state’s figures and average cannabis prices in other rec markets, sales could come in between $15 million and more than $75 million.